Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder and head of the Russian mercenary organization Wagner, said today that his troops have captured the village of Yakhidnoye on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces have been trying to take control of for the summer.

The capture of Yakhidne further narrows the Russian cordon around Bakhmut, and the village is less than two kilometers from the center of this strategically important walled city that has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

“At 19:00 on February 25, Wagner’s assault detachments took full control of the village of Yagidnoye north of Bakhmut,” Prigozhin said, according to his Telegram press service.

The Telegram photo shows armed men wearing masks and carrying a mercenary flag in front of the entrance to the village of Yakhidnoye.

According to the Wagner press service, citing the Russian news agency TASS, Ukrainian troops blew up a dam near Bakhmut to slow down the advance of Russian troops.

“Indeed, the Ukrainian armed forces blew up the dam,” the press service said, adding that it was a dam on a lake located west of Bakhmut.

These claims have not been independently verified.

Russian troops have been trying to encircle Bakhmut for weeks now and have managed to cut off several important supply lines for Ukrainian troops.

On Friday yesterday, Wagner, who was in the vanguard of this battle, reported the capture of Berkhifka north of Bakhmut and last week of Paraskovovka.

In recent weeks, tensions have flared between the mercenary group and the Russian military, with Prigozhin accusing the latter of not providing his organization with the ammunition it needs.

Source: RES